ZIP 62554 vs ZIP 62501

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62554 (Oreana, IL) and ZIP 62501 (Argenta, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62554 has a population of 1,563 at 33 people per square mile, while ZIP 62501 has 2,661 at 13 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 62554 reports a median household income of $95,625 against $95,889 in ZIP 62501, with per-capita income of $34,197 vs $56,604. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.8% in 62554 and 31.1% in 62501. Poverty rate reads 4.8% vs 3.2%, and unemployment 2.9% vs 2.8% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $152,600 in 62554 versus $172,200 in 62501, with median rent of $928 and $797 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.2% vs 90.4%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.